The present invention relates to fluid control valves, and in particular to valve assemblies designed for use in mounting locations that are not perpendicular or square to a wall.
Tub/shower fluid control valves are typically mounted through a wall adjacent a tub or a shower stall. The wall may be part of a unitary enclosure, or it may be a room wall such as a tiled wall forming part of a shower enclosure.
Such control valves are typically anchored to rear studs and/or adjacent wall board, and then linked to hot and cold water supply lines behind the wall. These valves usually have a valve stem that projects outward from a wall opening, and a handle is attached to the outer end of the stem to provide control over the valve from the room side of the wall.
Many of these valves are mixer valves which accept both hot and cold water, control the proportioning and volume of water there through, and deliver a mixed outlet stream to a tub filler, shower head and/or the like when the valve is turned on. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,799. Other such valves merely control the volume of a single supply of cold or hot water. Yet other valves divert flow to multiple devices such as a hand sprayer, shower head, and faucet, or other devices.
In any event, such valves are preferably mounted in a manner where a valve stem protrudes at a 90 degree angle from the wall. This facilitates the alignment of a decorative escutcheon that abuts against the walls outside to hide the wall opening as well as prevent air leakage through the wall opening.
Occasionally in new installations, and much more often in connection with remodeling projects, the walls of the enclosure are not perfectly plumb (vertical). Alternatively, even where they are plumb, the control valve may have been installed so that the valve stem does not extend perpendicular to the wall. Problems can also result when the thickness of the wall is more or less than expected. In any of these cases, the angle between the valve stem and the wall can be more or less than 90 degrees, which presents a number of functional and aesthetic problems for mounting the control hardware.
First of all, when the valve is not perpendicular to the wall, the handle and associated decorative elements can appear crooked and/or misaligned from inside the room. Secondly, because of variations in the wall thickness the distance between the handle and the wall can vary, again affecting the aesthetics of the installation. Additionally, if the escutcheon is secured tightly on the valve perpendicular to the valve stem, its back/inner side will not be flush against the wall. Instead, there will be a gap between the wall and the escutcheon. This gap may be unsightly, and in any event will leave an opening through which cold drafts can enter the bathroom and room moisture can leak from the room behind the room walls (possibly leading to mildew that is difficult to remove).
In the past, one approach for leveling the escutcheon against the wall, when the valve was angled with respect to the wall, was to slightly bend the escutcheon or gouge out the wall slightly where the escutcheon hit first. For some room materials (e.g. tile) this was difficult. Further, this in any event required additional time and effort and occasionally led to a somewhat unprofessional appearance. Additionally, while this correction eliminates the problem with the escutcheon, the problems with the handle remained.
U.S. Pat. No. 572,911 disclosed a fluid control valve that had a pipe section formed with an annular shoulder or bulge defining a curved surface of increased diameter than the pipe section that fit into a curved pocket in an escutcheon. The escutcheon could swivel or pivot around the shoulder to be at a non-perpendicular angle relative to the pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,163,457 disclosed a somewhat similar assembly albeit here the bulge or shoulder was on an annular member (separate from the spigot pipe) and the escutcheon did not appear to have a concave pocket.
The assemblies disclosed in both of these patents left the shoulder and mating surface of the escutcheon visible from inside the room. Also, when the escutcheon was at a non-perpendicular angle on the spigot it overlapped portions of the shoulder differently, making it somewhat evident that the escutcheon was angled with respect to the wall. Furthermore, the correction did not improve the appearance of the handle installation or account for differences induced by wall thickness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,983 disclosed a fluid control valve including a swivel joint for pivotally mounting, a decorative escutcheon relative to a valve body so that the escutcheon could be mounted flush against the mounting wall when the valve is not perpendicular to the wall. While accounting for gaps between the wall and the escutcheon, however, this joint also does not correct for variations in the angle and distance of the handle to the wall.
Thus, a need still exists for an improved valve assembly in which the escutcheon can be mounted in a decorative manner, yet flush, against a mounting wall, and which provides a handle that is perpendicular to the wall when the valve is not aligned perpendicular to the wall.